Backwash E-newsletter

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OUR READERS AND BEST WISHES FOR A WONDERFUL 2010

BOARD NEWS

AGM. The IAL’s AGM was held last Monday via teleconference for the first time. The teleconference format was trialled to help ensure that members had a better opportunity to attend and actively participate. Judging by the positive feed-back that was received, this format was appreciated by those attending and will be continued in the future.

Board reviews strategic plan. On Tuesday, following the AGM, the board spent the day reviewing and updating the industry’s strategic plan. Much has changed since IAL put its current plan together about a year ago. These changes and updated priorities will be incorporated. Once updated, the document will be presented to the regions and provided to members via the website.

IAL bids for ICID Conference. The IAL will be formally present a bid at the ICID conference being in New Delhi this month to hold the ICID 63rd International Executive Council Meeting and 7th Asian Regional Conference in conjunction with the IAL conference in Adelaide in 2012. If successful, this will not only raise IAL’s profile, but significantly enhance the 2012 event as it will have international recognition and attendance.

REGIONAL NEWS

To find out what's happening in your region click on the links. North Queensland, South East Queensland, Darling Downs, North West NSW, Sydney, Central and Far West NSW, Melbourne and Southern Victoria, South Australia, and Western Australia.

JOURNAL

Autumn edition of Irrigation Australia journal will be out in February 2010. Advertise your product or service in the only irrigation magazine in Australia that goes to both urban and agricultural irrigation sectors. Technical features; recycled water and water policy in Australia. Advertising feature; recycled water. To submit a technical article contact Anne Currey, email. To advertise contact Brian Rault, phone 03 8534 5014, email.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

IAL looks for EoIs for Certification Board. IAL is seeking Expressions of Interest for positions on the new IAL Certification Board. The board will provide governance and a quality assurance process for the IAL’s Certification program. Download Terms of Reference and nomination form. Email nominations to Jann O'Connor by COB 10 December 2009.

Professional Development Committee meets. The newly appointed IAL Professional Development Committee will hold its first meeting 15 December at Brisbane. Responses to the EoI to be a member of the committee were overwhelming, making selection very difficult. Committee members are: Mark Quayle (IAL), Jann O'Connor (IAL), Jeremy Cape (industry expert and assessor), Kerry Drinkwater (TAFE Qld), and Neil Marriott (TAFE WA).

FOR YOUR DIARY

IA 2010 online. You can keep up with the latest on Irrigation Australia Conference and Expo 2010 at its special website.

Irrigation Efficiency courses 2010. Do you manage an irrigation system and want to measure how efficient it is? Complete the IEC and you will be able to evaluate your system. Training in Certificate III in Irrigation competencies: troubleshooting irrigation systems; measuring irrigation delivery system performance; and operating pressurised irrigation systems. For dates for courses for 2010 go to the IAL website.

Last ET MasterClass – don’t miss out. The third ET MasterClass will be held in Sydney 9-10 February 2010. Presenters are Dr Jim Wallace CSIRO, Professor Wayne Meyer University of Adelaide and Dr Evan Christen CSIRO. Includes latest research and practice on evapotranspiration and details about the latest crop water requirement estimation methods. For information and to register go to CRC IF website or contact Deborah Atkins, phone 0415 135 457, email

National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training. Check out courses for 2010 at the NCGRT website

Third International Conference on Water Resources and Renewal Energy Development, Asia. Being held in Kuching, Malaysia, 29 - 30 March 2010. For information go to website.

INDUSTRY NEWS

SA and Victoria meet in court. The SA Government has begun proceedings in the High Court to try to overturn Victoria's Cap on the River Murray. The government says that a win will help return healthy water flows to the River Murray's Lower Lakes and Coorong. More

Toro partners with Bermad Australia. Toro are now distributing BERMAD Agricultural Valves. For more information, contact Tim Maguire, phone 08 8300 3633.

SAWM

2009 Stakeholder Forum. Another year has passed! The Annual Smart Approved WaterMark Stakeholder Forum took place on Thursday 29 October 2009, in conjunction with the International Water Association's Efficient 09 conference.

Expert Panel Meeting. The independent Technical Panel next meets on 10 December. If you have a product or service that you would like to make an Application for Smart WaterMark approval, visit our Applications page. If you have any questions, contact Cally Sheehan, phone 02 9223 3322, or go to the SAWM website.

STANDARDS UPDATE

Two new potential tests of irrigation equipment were discussed at the recent ISO SC18; a new testing method for evaluating filters and a new testing protocol for evaluating clogging in drippers, especially inline drip products. The two tests are being discussed and Australia has been invited to participate in trials of the two testing methodologies.

Several people have asked for information about the new standard being developed in Spain for monitoring and control equipment. This will be distributed as soon as the drafts are received from Spain. For more information contact Jeremy Cape, email

HANDY LINKS

Keep up-to-date with the latest on Water for the Future, the Commonwealth Government's water reform package, by subscribing to its email newsletter, Water Matters.

PRODUCTS

Check out the IAL's bookshop and order your publications, Space Pro software and catch cans. Some publications also available for free download.

REGIONAL COMMITTEE CONTACTS

North Queensland
Geoff Chaillon

Darling Downs
David Wigginton

South East Queensland
Michael Barker

NSW North West
Peter Taylor

Sydney
Pat O’Shannessy

Central and Far West NSW
Ken Rogers

Melbourne
Des Horton

South Australia
Max Curnow

Western Australia
Greg Stewart

Northern Territory
Peter Giles

ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER

Backwash is a monthly newsletter published by Irrigation Australia reporting on developments in the irrigation and related industries. For more information or to contribute article ideas send an email.

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